In 2014, three Ohio community colleges set out to adapt a developmental student support model pioneered by the City University of New York (CUNY) called Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP). This program requires students to attend school full time and provides support services for three years, including enhanced advising, financial aid, and career counseling, to help them graduate with an associate’s degree quickly. In this Evidence First podcast episode, MDRC talks with Christine Brongniart, the University Executive Director of CUNY ASAP, and Colleen Sommo, a senior research fellow in MDRC’s Postsecondary Education policy area, to learn more about the replication of CUNY ASAP and the latest findings from MDRC’s study of the Ohio program, including increased earnings and doubled graduation rates.

MDRC’s Evidence First podcast features experts—program administrators, policymakers, and researchers—talking about the best evidence available on education and social programs that serve people with low incomes. In this episode, MDRC’s Leigh Parise talks with Paul Fain, an education and workforce journalist, and Betsy Tessler, a senior researcher at MDRC. Nondegree credentials are typically certificates or licenses earned in a short period of time that confer some kind of professional or industry-recognized skill. They are not new to the world of higher education, but they have received a lot of attention in the last few years as a “faster” way to connect students to employment in comparison to earning a traditional college degree.

In observance of National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, September 19-25, this compendium highlights nine practices that represent holistic approaches to delivering adult education programs. These programs represent approaches for modeling effective integrated education and training (IET) programs—transitioning adult learners from adult basic education to postsecondary education or training, and increasing access to adult education services. The practices are drawn from programs in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas.

In April 2020, the U.S. Department of Education expanded the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative to include 67 new higher education institutions in the program, beyond the 63 colleges that had already been providing postsecondary education programs in prisons. This initiative and its expansion offer unique challenges for colleges responding to this nontraditional student population. This guide offers examples and practical operational support to both colleges and corrections departments for establishing postsecondary education programs in the prison environment. These programs strive to balance affirming the dignity of these nontraditional students with delivering comparable in-person educational quality to traditional classroom settings.

This webpage provides information on City College of San Francisco’s noncredit Vocational English as a Second Language classes which introduce students to work-related vocabulary and help with employment-related language skills. Also provided is a link to I-BEST/Supported Instruction classes, as well as information about the college’s Adult Education Program and a link to the current schedule of classes.

This Lumina Foundation brief offers a synthesis of third-party evaluations that measure and assess the impact of strategies used by two-year colleges to improve adult completion of non-degree credential programs. Strategies include the use of academic and non-academic student supports, the creation and implementation of career pathways, and the deployment of prior learning assessments. The brief also offers data pointing to the limited labor market opportunities for the more than half of Americans ages 25 to 64 who do not hold a postsecondary credential.

This Urban Institute brief presents findings of the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) initiative evaluation as a model and practice of integrated career pathways for adult basic education and skills training. The evaluation covers ways that programs in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana aimed to help adults with basic skills deficiencies earn occupational credentials. The evaluation identifies impacts on earnings and job opportunities for AO initiative participants.

Over 36 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third grade level. Further, 43 percent of adults with the lowest literacy levels live in poverty, and 70 percent of adult welfare recipients have low literacy rates. The Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar on December 12, 2019 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET exploring how programs are addressing these challenges and providing an overview of the current state of adult literacy and education in the United States. The webinar featured successful program strategies for improving literacy levels and preparing adults for sustainable employment. 

Speakers included:

Cheryl Keenan, Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), U.S. Department of Education

Daphne Greenberg, Distinguished University Professor and Principal Investigator, Center of the Study of Adult Literacy, College of Education & Human Development, Georgia State University

William Durden, Policy Associate, Basic Education for Adults, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC)

Stacey Wedlake, Research Coordinator and Analyst, Technology and Social Change Group, University of Washington Information School

 

This National Skills Coalition report identifies the role of non-degree credentials as a means to expand economic and educational opportunities for underserved workers. The report offers a proposed set of quality assurance systems for these non-degree credentials, developed in consultation with 12 states, so that policy makers can support these training programs with public resources. Students can enroll in high-quality programs, and employers can validate the connection between the credential and industry needs.

This National Skills Coalition blogpost summarizes the Coalition’s work on non-degree credentials and how to define quality non-degree credentials that are valid, reliable, and transparent. The blogpost also explores how states could support industry partnerships, expand apprenticeships and work-based learning, and increase financial aid and non-tuition supportive services for persons seeking non-degree credentials.